Nick Faldo expects Darren Clarke to continuing his golfing revival because of his Ryder Cup omission, rather than in spite of it.
"I'm sure things like this can be a great inspiration," said Faldo after handing his wild cards for next month's match to Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.
"For Darren he's definitely on the way back and I'm sure he'll get some serious inspiration from that."
Last December Clarke was down at 258th in the world, his game having understandably suffered as he tried to come to terms with losing his wife Heather to breast cancer just before the last cup match.
But he has won twice this season and when he next plays - in Germany next week rather than Switzerland on Thursday as originally planned - he will have a chance to re-enter the world's top 50.
As for Montgomerie, five years older than Clarke, Faldo does not seem quite so sure.
He said: "Monty is 45 and it's a tougher push now. I'm not saying any more than that, but it could inspire those guys to want to make the (2010) team or they might start thinking of a captain role."
Gleneagles in 2014 is seen as the obvious time for Montgomerie to be at the helm of the European side and he has already vowed to do all he can to try and make it back into the line-up for Celtic Manor in two years' time.
No Scot will face the Americans for the first time since 1937 - and there will not be one in the backroom team either.
Faldo has decided that he and Jose Maria Olazabal will go it alone.
In May last year Paul McGinley was appointed as an assistant as well, but the Dubliner resigned four months later because he wanted to fight for a place on the side again.
He failed, but Faldo is not going to invite him back.
He said: "Between the pair of us (him and Olazabal) we've got 18 Ryder Cups and we have served with five captains as well.
"I want to keep it the two of us because the thing I learned from the Seve Trophy was that if I am going to make the final decision, I have to gather the information myself.
"We are very comfortable. From the Seve Trophy experience I know how much I enjoyed it and it was very valuable to know how I can move around the golf course."
Opposite number Paul Azinger has taken a totally different approach. Former captains Ray Floyd and Dave Stockton and US Tour player Olin Browne are all helping him.
Montgomerie revealed last week he would consider assisting if asked, although it never seemed likely given the comments Faldo made about him after last year's Seve Trophy match.
Only two weeks ago 2006 captain Ian Woosnam stated: "I found that how I ran my operation, even five are not enough.
"I would say Nick Faldo needs more people to be out there in America helping him. I don't know how he will cope -
he'll find out, I guess.
"That's the way Nick's doing it, but I did it the way I did it and that was the same way Bernhard Langer did it and Tony Jacklin did it.
"Nick Faldo has got the experience -
he should know all that. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
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